Davenport bed



M. FOX

DAVENPORT BED Sept. 24, 1957 5 Sheets-Shet l Filed May 18, 1955 MZH M. FOX

DAVENPORT BED Sept. 24, 1957 5 Seets-Sheet 2 Filed May 18, 1953 Sept. 24, 1957 lM. FOX

DAVENPORT BED 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 18, 1953 Sept. 24, 1957 NLI Fox 2,807,030

DAvEN/PORT BED Filed May 18, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Z] l Il' Il A9"- [l l Z9 ||||I Sept. 24, 1957 M. Fox 2,807,030

DAVENPORT BED Filed May 18, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United Sttes arent DAVENPORT BED Martin Fox, Chicago, lll., assignor to The Seng Company,

a corporation of Illinois Application May 18, 1953, Serial No. 355,747

9 Claims. (Cl. 5-13) This invention relates to an improvement in davenport bed construction, and in particular it relates to the type of davenport bed in Whic'h the front section of a plurality of articulated bed sections is inverted to serve as a seat frame in davenport position.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a davenport bed in which the several bed sections are firmly locked together in davenport position so as to locate the seat frame in a precisely fixed position, and especially to resist any tendency of the seat frame to be tilted by the pressure exerted on it by the mattress and bedding.

A further object is to provide a davenport bed structure in which a rear bed frame member is provided with a pivoted locking plate which is so linked that, as the bed frame members complete their movement into davenport position, the locking plate rocks over and a notch in one margin engages a pitman which is pivoted on the seat frame, so as to firmly lock the seat frame against movement.

Yet another object is to provide a bed davenport in which the locking and unlocking of the seat frame is accomplished automatically as the davenport bed mechanism is folded or unfolded.

Still a further object is to provide a davenport bed in which a pair of rigid, tubular braces extend across two of the bed sections close to their pivotal connection with an adjacent bed section immediately beneath the mattress supporting spring structure to provide a very rigid bed structure which is not free to twist if side thrust is put upon it in folding or unfolding the bed, said braces being l so positioned longitudinally of the bed 'frame that they are not beneath the torso of a person occupying the bed.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a davenport bed constructed in accordance with the invention with the articulated bed sections in bed position, the View being taken in the same manner as indicated for Fig. 4 on Fig. 6;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale taken as indicated along the line 2-2 of Fig.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale, showing the mechanism in its intermediate position during folding or unfolding;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the mechanism in davenport position;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged side elevation similar to a portion of Fig. 4, to show the latching mechanism more clearly;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan View of the mechanism in davenport position, the section line 4 4 thereon indicating the manner of taking the section 'for Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a side elevational View of the locking plate; and

Fig. 8 is a rear elevational view thereof.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, and referring iCC first to Figs. 1 and 6, the davenport bed of this invention is provided with a wooden davenport frame, indicated generally at 10,v said frame including a base portion 11, back portion 12, and arm portions 13. The base portion includes a front rail 14, a back rail 15, end members 16 and front and rear feet 17 and 18, respectively. Extending upwardly at each end of the front rail 14 is an arm front member 19, and at each end of :the back rail 1S is an upright back end frame member 20. Arm top frame pieces 21 extend from front to rear of the frame at the upper ends of the arm front frame pieces 19 and are secured at their rear ends to the back frame 12.

The back frame also includes a top bar 22, end boards 23, end rails 24, rear cross pieces 25 and a front cross piece 26.

Adjacent the forward portion of the back frame at each end of the frame structure is an upright bed-supporting frame piece 27 onto which is screwed a ixed bed mounting bracket 28. Secured to the front rail 14 and to the base wend members 16 are a pair of front pivot plates 29.

The bed structure itself is formed of four articulated i bed sections 30, 31, 32l and 33 which are pivotally connected at 34, 35 and 36, the pivots for said connections being mounted in nylon bearings. Each of the articulated bed sections is formed in the conventional manner from angle members which are riveted together, and a continuous wire spring structure 37 of conventional type (see Fig. 6) is supported in said bed sections. The front bed section 33 occupies an inverted position to serve as a seat frame when the mechanism is in davenport position, and will therefore sometimes be referred to herein as the seat frame. A straight tubular brace 73 extends across the bed structure immediately adjacent the pivots 34, and a second similar brace 74 extends across the bed structure about midway between the pivots 35 and 36. Said -braces are straight so that the spring structure 37 lies on them, and are so positioned that lthe torso of a person occupying the bed may lie between them so that they do not cause any discomfort. The braces are about three feet apart, and the brace 73 is no more than 18 from the head of the bed. The very rigid construction afforded by the use of the straight tubular braces 73 and 74 substantially eliminates twisting of the bed frame as it is folded or unfolded and thus there is no undesirable strain on the pivots 34, 35 and 36. It is this construction which permits the use of nylon bearings for said A pivots.

The bed sections are supported in the davenport frame 10 by means of a pair of curved swinging arms 38 which are pivoted to support brackets 28 at 39 and have their lower ends riveted to the bed section 30 at 40; and by a pair of supporting arms 41 which are pivoted at 42 on the front mounting plates 29. At the outer end of each supporting arm 41 is a pivot 43 which provides one connection for a link 44 which has its opposite end pivoted to a bracket 45 on the bed section 30. A tension spring 41a extends from each supporting arm 41 to the bed section 30, to assist initial movement of the mechanism 'from davenport position, in the usual manner. On the bed section 31 immediately forward of each supporting arm 41 is a pivot 46 for a locking plate 47 which has its upper end also connected to the pivot 43 on the supporting arm 41. The locking plate 47 is one of the major components of the latching mechanism for the seat frame, and its function in this regard Will be described in detail hereafter.

The pivots 35 between the bed sections 31 and 32 also serve as mounting pivots for folding intermediate legs 48 which are connected together by means of a transverse cross brace 49 and which are provided with pivots 50 for links 51 by means of which the intermediate legs 48-are linked to the locking plates 47 through pivots 52 on said .locking plates.

In the bed frame 31 immediately to the rear of the pivots 35 are slots 53 to receive sliding studs 54. The sliding studs 54 providey pivotal connections for links 55 which have. pivots S6 at their outer ends 'to' make pivotal connection with pitmans 57 which in turnare securedby'means of pivots 58 to the front bed section 33.' The', linksSS and the pitmans 57 constitute the other major portion of the locking mechanism, and *cooperate in this respect with the locking plates 4 I Also pivotedion the sliding studk 54'is a short bracing link 59, best seenin Figs. 3'and 5, which has its other end pivotally connected to the bed section 32.

Mounted on the bed frame 32 is a pair of fixed brackets 60 to receive a front trim board 61 which surmounts the frmtrail l4'of the base frame 11 when the mechanism is in davenport position, as seen in Fig. 4. Spring covering fabric 62 extends loosely from the front trim board 611.10 the end rail 63 lofthe front bed section 33 so that-the davenport cushions do not rest directly upon the .SPl'illl: 37 At the rear of the trim board 61 is mounted a :Horrible pull strap 64 which extends through eyelets Sin the-fabric 62 so that it may be grasped .in folding or the mechanism;

A pair of front legs 66 are pivoted on the bed section 33--atf67 and leg links 68 connect the upper ends ofY slid front legs 66 to pivots 69 on the brackets 60 for the-trim board 61.'

Referring now particularly to Figs. 7 and 8, each of the locking plates 47 is stamped from a single piece of sheet metal and is provided with' bosses 46a and 43a, in which are apertures 46b and 43b for the mounting pivot 46 and forthe pivot `43, respectively. An aperture 52a is also pmvidedfor theV pivot 52. Immediately adjacent the boss 46a is a notch 70 which-has a lower margin 70a merging into a lange 71 along the margin of the boss 46a whichjforms-a segment of a circle about the mounting pivotl 46, anda rear, or upper margin 70h which includes a long straight upwardly extending guide flange 72 which extends around the edge ofthe locking plate 47 nearly to the As best` seen in Fig. 3, the notch 70 is upwardly open inl bed position and the guide flange 72 is in an upright position, While as seen in Figs. 4 and 5, in davenport position the notch 70 is faced generally forward, and the guide ange 72 extends generally longitudinally ofthe `structure so that the upper margin 70b of `notch 70.overlies and closely confines a projecting stud`like portion of the pivot 56 by means of which the link 55. and pitman 57 are connected together. Thus, when the mechanism is in davenport position as seen in Figs. 4 and 5, theY pitman 57 extends downwardly from the `seat frame 33, and the stud-like projecting portion of the pivot 56 is supported on the lower margin 70a Vand closely confined by the upper margin 70b of the notch 70 of the locking plate 47 so that allthe bed sections, and particularly the front bed section 33, which forms theseat frame are firmly locked together.

The Afunctioning of the unit is believed to be clear from the foregoing description. Starting with the unit in bcd positoin as seen in Fig. l, the mechanism is iirst moved to the intermediate position illustrated in Fig. 3 by grasping the endv rail 63 of the bed section 33 and lifting to jackknifey the bed sections 33 and 32 about ther-pivot 36, and to break the bed sections 32 and 31 about the pivot 35. When this movement is completed, thefparts are as seen in Fig. 3 with the bed section 32in an upright position, the front bed section 33 in an inverted position above and substantially parallel to the bed section 31, the .front legs 66 folded parallel to the ends'of the front bed section 33, and the pitman 57 extending, downwardly from the front bed section 33 so that the projecting stud-like portion of the pivot 56 is immediately adjacent the boss 46a on the locking plate Thebed sections are prevented from collapsing 4 rearwardly about the pivot 35 by means of the short bracing link 59.

In the second movement to davenport position, the flexible strap 64 is grasped to swing the entire mechanism about the supporting arms 41, and to swing the head of the bed about the pivots 39 of the curved swinging arms 38. As this movement takes place, the supporting arms 41 swing about their pivots 42, the curved support arms 38 swing about their pivots 39, and the bed sections 30 and 31 jackknife at their pivots 34. The relationship between the locking plates 47 and the long links 44 is such that as the bed sections 30 and 31 jackknife -at their pivots the locking plates 47 are rocked forwardly so as to roll the notches 70 over the projecting studlike portions of the pivots 56 on the pitmans 57. The exact position which the pivots 56 occupy when the parts are as shown in Fig. 3 depends upon the thickness of the mattress M, indicated in broken lines, and the amount of bedding. The pivot 56 may be in contact with the flange 71 at the margin of the boss 46a, or it may be a good deal above said flange if the mattress M and bedding are thick enough to prevent the front bed section 33 from swinging all the way down. As the locking plate 47 rocks into the locking position shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the long straight guide ange 72 engages the stud-like projection on the pivot 56 and cams it into the notch 70, so that if there is a large amount of bedding the mattress is compressed in order to draw the seat frame 33 down to its xed davenport position.

In davenport position the bed section 30 occupies an upright position adjacent the back cross members 25, the bed section 31 is substantially horizontally positioned adjacent the bottom :of the end frame pieces 16, and the bed sections 32 and 33 still occupy the same positions with respect to the bed frame 31 which they occupy in Fig. 3.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom as modications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

.1. In a folding and retractable bed structure for a davenport bed having a box-like frame provided at its ends with supporting brackets: four articulated bed sections which are adapted to be swingably supported on the brackets on said frame for movement between a coplanar bed position and a davenport position in which the front bed section serves as a seat frame and is positioned above and substantially parallel to a rear bed section; a pitman pivoted on said front bed section; a link pivoted to said pitman and making a pin and slot connection with said rear bed section, whereby the pitman is generally longitudinally disposed in bed position and extends downwardly in davenport position; a stud on the lower end of said pitman; a locking plate pivotally mounted on said rear bed section, said locking plate having an upwardly extending camming guide portion which terminates at its lower end in an open notch; and link means connecting said locking plate to the rearrnost bed section, said link means being constructed and arranged to rock the locking plate as the bed sections move into davenport position to roll the guide portion of the locking plate over the stud on the pitman and cam said stud into said notch, said stud being supported in the notch in davenport position to secure the front bed section in a positively lixed, inverted position.

2. The davenport bed of claim l in which the connection between the bed sections and theV davenport frame includes supporting link means which is pivoted.

on brackets at the front of the frame and on the locking plate.

3. In a folding and retractable bed structure for a davenport bed having a box-like frame provided at its ends with front and rear supporting brackets: four articulated bed sections which are adapted to be swingably supported at the rear on the rear supporting brackets on said frame for movement between a coplanar bed position and a davenport position in which the front bed section serves as a seat frame and is positioned above and substantially parallel to a rear bed section; a pitman pivoted on said front bed section; a link pivoted to said pitrnan and making a pin and slot connection with said rear bed section, whereby the pitman is generally longitudinally disposed in bed position and extends downwardly in davenport position; a stud on the lower end of said pitman; a locking plate pivotally mounted on said rear bed section, said locking plate having an upwardly extending guide portion which terminates at its lower end in an open notch; and link means connecting said locking plate to the rearmost bed section, said link means including supporting links pivoted on the front supporting brackets and on the locking plate, and being constructed and arranged to rock the locking plate as the bed sections move into davenport position to engage the guide portion of the locking plate with the stud on the pitman and cam said stud into said notch.

4. In a davenport bed mechanism: a fixed davenport frame; a folding bed bottom mounted in said frame and comprising a plurality of bed sections including a front section and a rear section articulated for movement between a coplanar bed position and an intermediate position in which the front section is above the rear section, and for further movement from said intermediate position to a folded davenport position within the davenport frame with said front section uppermost to form a seat frame; a pitman on the front bed section; a stud on the free end of the pitman; a guide link connected to said pitman and to a bed section other than said front bed section to move the pitman to an upright intermediate position with the stud adjacent the rear bed section; a locking plate pivotally mounted on said rear bed section, said locking plate having a notch immediately adjacent its pivot which is upwardly open in intermediate position to receive said stud; and link means connected to said locking plate and operable during movement of the bed bottom into bed position to rock the plate on its pivot and roll said notch over the stud, said notch having a lower marginal portion' which supports the stud in davenport position and an upper marginal portion which closely confines the stud in said position.

5. The device of claim 4 in which the upper marginal portion of the notch includes an elongated camming guide face which is upright in intermediate position and may cam the stud into the notch during the movement to davenport position.

6. The device of claim 4 in which the lower marginal portion of the notch merges into a surface which is a segment of a circle with its center at the pivot for the locking plate, said surface being positioned to support the stud in intermediate position.

7. The device of claim 4 in which the link means connected to the locking plate includes a swinging support arm pivoted at its lower end on the davenport frame and at its upper end on the locking plate, and a link connected to the locking plate and to a bed section which is to the rear of said rear bed section.

8. The device of claim 5 in which the camming guide face has a longitudinal liange which may contact the stud to cam it into the notch, and the lower margin of the notch merges with a flanged surface which is a segment of a circle wtih its center at the pivot for the locking plate, said flanged surface being positioned to support the stud in intermediate position.

9. In a sofa-bed, a sofa body, a frame foldable into said body to dene a sofa and unfoldable out of said body to define a bed, said frame comprising pivotally connected sections including upper and lower horizontal sections that are in substantial horizontal alignment when the frame is fully unfolded and lie in superposed proximity when the frame is folded and during movements of the frame between its fully folded position and an intermediate forwardly raised position, a pair of toggle links pivotally connected to each other and having their outer ends pivotally connected to said upper and lower horizontal sections respectively, said toggle links being adapted to open when the frame is unfolded and to collapse together when the frame is folded, and a hook-shaped member adapted during the folding of the frame to receive a part of one of said toggle links when the frame reaches said intermediate position, said hook-shaped member being mounted for movement to v lock said links against movement` in toggle opening direction.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

